Top 7 Best LARGE Ceiling Fans for the Most Airflow

The Bigger Size Trend Continues to Grow

Today’s residential ceiling fan market is becoming saturated with extra large ceiling fans. The trend started several years ago with the introduction of a few industrial styled 72 inch ceiling fans. Not long after came 80” models, and then their 84” counterparts.

With the sales of 84” ceiling fans greater than anyone in the industry ever anticipated, it wasn’t long that 96” ceiling fans were introduced. A short while later, in 2017, Minka Aire added their Ninety-Nine model, which is a fan with a 99” blade span.

Just this year, Craftmade has introduced several fans exceeding 100 inches in diameter, including the 120” Windswept, available in both Espresso and Brushed Polished Nickel finishes.

With all of these huge ceiling fans coming onto the market designed for residential use it is easy to get confused as to which one you should choose.

Don’t Just Look at Size, Look at Performance

We find most customers simply look at how big a ceiling fan is, and wrongly assume that the longer the blade span the more the airflow will be. Also, wrongly assumed is that if two fans are the same size, but one is a 6 blade fan, and the other is a 9 blade fan, that the 9 blade fan will move more airflow. This is also a false assumption.

When shopping for any ceiling fan, whether small, medium, or large, one must look at the airflow rating in Cubic Feet Per Minute (CFM) to determine how well the ceiling fan really performs.

To make your shopping experience easier, in this article we will rate the top 7 large ceiling fans in order by airflow, taking the guesswork out of which models produce the highest cubic feet per minute of airflow.

1: 82” Liberator by TroposAir

It may come as a surprise to many that our very best large ceiling fan for airflow is not a 99 inch, or even a 120 inch ceiling fan. The very best model for the most airflow volume has an 82 inch blade span. The 82” TroposAir Liberator ceiling fan moves more than 2,000 CFMs of airflow than its nearest competitor.

The Liberator is an industrial styled 9 blade design that can be used indoors or outdoor on the patio. It comes with a very powerful, yet very energy efficient DC motor, and it is controlled by a 5 speed hand-held remote. A light for this fan is not included, but the bottom plate can be removed and exchanged for an optional integrated & dimmable LED light.

High Speed CFM Rating: 15,754

2: 84” Titan by TroposAir

The next fan on our list for most airflow is another model from TroposAir. The 84” Titan ceiling fan uses 6 extruded aluminum blades with a variable blade pitch. This allows for really good airflow volume to be distributed across a large area, without the need for the fan to spin at a high rate of RPMs.

The Titan comes loaded with a high-end DC motor, an integrated light kit (with a light cover if the light is not needed) and a 6 speed full-function remote control, that offers variable light dimming. Please note, sometime mid-2018 the Titan will no longer come standard with the light, but an optional LED light will be offered in place of the current CFL bulb type light.

High Speed CFM Rating: 14,352

3: 96” Colossus by Craftmade

Finally, we get to a 96 inch ceiling fan on our list of The Best Large Ceiling Fans for the Most Airflow.

Craftmade’s 96” Colossus ceiling fan is similar to the 84” TroposAir Titan, in that it uses 6 extruded aluminum blades, a powerful, yet energy efficient DC motor, and it comes with a six speed handheld remote control. Craftmade also includes in the box an in-wall control, which is nice bonus that is sold separately for most ceiling fan models.

High Speed CFM Rating: 13,644

4: 84” Stellar by Fanimation

The Fanimation Stellar is a very efficient 8 blade 84” ceiling fan, and is one of the few large fans that is not only outdoor rated, for use on a covered deck or porch, but has a full UL Wet Rated approval. This means it can even be installed from a pergola and take direct water contact.

Another thing that sets the Stellar apart from every other product on this list is that it uses a variable speed motor. Although, for most people the six speed remotes included with most all of the better quality large ceiling fans, no one can argue that variable is an even better feature.

High Speed CFM Rating: 13,389

5: 99” Ninety-Nine by Minka Aire

The largest fan on our list is the Minka Aire Ninety-Nine ceiling fan. It gets its name from the massive 99 inch blade span. This is one of the less industrial looking of the large ceiling fans, yet it still features up-to-date styling and finishes that are perfect for today’s top décor trends.

The 99 inch span is achieved by nine contoured blades mounted to a simplistically styled central motor housing. In the the center of the blades is a tasteful integrated LED light fixture, that puts out an outstanding amount of light.

The Nine-Nine is available in three finish choices, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Distressed Koa, and Brushed Nickel with Silver blades, and it is controlled by a 6-speed full-function remote control.

High Speed CFM Rating: 13,000

6: 96” Extreme by Minka Aire

Another extra large model that moves a really good amount of airflow is Minka Aire’s 96” Extreme ceiling fan. It is available in two finishes, Brushed Nickel Wet, and Oil Rubbed Bronze.

The Extreme is a 9 blade model that uses one of the most energy efficient fan motors ever created. The airflow rating, although good, isn’t as high as some of the other fans on this list, but it boast a whopping EPA Airflow Efficiency Rating of 537, due to only using 23 watts on its highest speed. This efficiency rating makes the Extreme the industry’s best ceiling fan for those that are extremely conscientious about saving electricity.

High Speed CFM Rating: 12,176

7: 96” HFC by Hunter Fans

The fan that rounds out our list is the Hunter 96” HFC ceiling fan. The HFC is the only ceiling fan we offer above 80 inches in diameter that does not use a direct current motor. Instead, the Hunter model uses a larger version of the company’s standard AC motor type. This ceiling fan still moves a good amount of airflow, but due to it not using a more efficient DC type motor it only offers 3 speeds, and is not nearly as energy efficient as the large sized models that use direct current motors. This fan does not come with a remote control, but rather a hard wired wall control.

Although we do not feel the big Hunter ceiling fan stacks up as well as the others when compared to the others’ included features and energy efficiency numbers, it is extremely nice to look at, and, because of that alone, it may be one of the best of the 96” fans for your décor.

High Speed CFM Rating: 11,899

New Models Arriving

There are many new larger than ever before ceiling fans coming in 2018. Some are promising extremely high airflow numbers, which will make them perfect for any large open space, whether used outdoor or in.

Craftmade Fans alone has two new models coming soon that span 100” and 102” respectfully. They are also offering a ceiling fan that we are already taking pre-orders for that has a full 10 foot blade span! We are sure these models will probably shake up our top 7 list a bit, but we are still awaiting test results from the EPA on these new models.

That said, there are many 72 inch ceiling fans, which are borderline of competing in overall CFM ratings of some of the top seven on this list. Although the 72” models may not spread quite as much airflow into a large space, they do typically produce a higher wind speed. This means, if your room isn’t quite as large, a 72” celling an may be a better options for keeping your area cool.